


Ineffable Love

by cyncitymojo



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angel & Demon Interactions, Angel/Demon Relationship, Angel/Demon Sex, Armageddon, Biblical References, Bottom Jensen Ackles, Community: j2_reversebang, Demon Powers, Demon/Human Relationships, Good versus Evil, Historical References, Identity Issues, M/M, No Delicate Flowers Here, Top Jared Padalecki, Wing Kink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2021-01-26 20:23:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21380044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyncitymojo/pseuds/cyncitymojo
Summary: “Well, it’s an ironic day indeed when Evil does the right thing and Good does the wrong thing. Funny, huh?” The demon’s serpentine eyes finally shining black as he grinned with mischief.
Relationships: Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki
Comments: 16
Kudos: 39
Collections: J2 Reverse Bang





	Ineffable Love

**Author's Note:**

> My second fic for this year's J2 Reverse Bang! Here is a [link](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21561577) to my artist's amazing work for this story. The always awesome Jdl71! Pay her a visit and give her some love!
> 
> Written for this prompt:  
**Demon Spawn**  
Rating for Art: G  
Maximum Rating for Story: NC-17  
Squicks (Hard No’s): Top Jensen, Character Death, Unhappy Ending
> 
> Art Description: Jared is a demon, but he doesn’t share the same views on humanity, wanting to corrupt them as his brethren do. He views humans as something to cherish. He’s an oddity and for that, he’s been banished to live on Earth. He lives a solitary life, too afraid to get attached to a human for fear of hurting them should they find out the truth about what he really is. That is, until he meets Jensen by chance and falls in love with the human.
> 
> This story sort of fuses two worlds together because I was intrigued by the Good Omens Verse, and this prompt really inspired me to think about a relationship like that and expand upon it J2 style!
> 
> Do Not Re-Post Without My Written Permission - Only To Be Posted On My AO3

It began as it will end, with a great fall...

Some millennia ago, soon after the rhythmic heartbeat of time began, an angel fell out of grace. This angel was not one of the infamous fallen written about in religious texts. His name was unknown among the humans he had come to cherish. In fact, had anyone seen him in the beginning, they would hardly have connected his visage to anything perceived as angelic.

His true form was beautiful in its menacing glory, surpassing that of God’s most beautiful angel created. Eyes of infinite obsidian depths, a crown of auburn and copper fire, skin that shimmered in its gunmetal grey hue, and amazing black, leathery wings. It was rumored the Gargoyle protectors of ancient castles and ruins were modeled after him. Back then, he was a naïve thing, malcontent and constantly looking for more.

The reason Lucifer was the one written as the most beautiful as opposed to Padalax is simple. Those who held the proverbial pens controlled the story.

Padalax had been incidentally swept into the great rebellion when Lucifer fell. That war had commenced while he was off watching creation develop. He hadn’t stepped up to fight with Heaven, so he was grouped with his banished acquaintances despite him never having participated or chosen any side. Guilty by association, really. Padalax didn’t mean to fall. He just made friends with the wrong people.

And so it was, The Great Fall, a significant moment in Mortal history, yet in actuality, it was, in the simplest of terms, a parent putting a child out of the house when said child thought he no longer had to follow the rules under that parent’s roof. Lucifer was not simply abandoned, either. In typical helicopter parent fashion, he was given a place of his own, rent-free, because his father built it. Similar to a modern parent, buying a set of investment properties and allowing family members to live in them, except they normally are expected to pay.

Most demons were foul, evil, corrupted souls. Damned wretches who’d squandered their human lives and had an eternity in Hell to pay for it. Padalax was a different type of demon, a fallen angel, an ancient rarity. He finds monotony in his hellish existence. The constant repetition of corruption, chaos, death, repeat. He had also started to find it lonely, yet, how could he? It is extremely un-demon-like for one to go around feeling such things. He started finding his own entertainment in creating chaos WITHIN the chaos. Stopping major historical events, preventing certain key turns of fate, and even creating a few miracles disguised as angelic works.

A demon can get into a lot of trouble for doing the right thing…  


JenRahZiel met Padalax while he was on patrol. He had been tasked with watching over the first humans created to live in Earth’s Eden. He was instructed to guide, but not directly interfere. The humans had been told their purposes and sent off to name and bond with the flora and fauna. They had but one rule, at least as the great historical gospels state.

JenRahZiel was eager to do well on his first field assignment. He knew every expansive, lush inch of the paradise the new beings had been given. He’d been granted a flaming sword to protect the great garden and everything in it. For a great while, the garden had been peaceful.

It has never been accurately documented, what had transpired on that fateful day that the humans, too, were exiled. This time, these children had been left to their own devices to survive in an unforgiving world in which Nature had been given full reign. The weather was no longer calm, consistent, and bright. The animals were wild, with no bond to humans as they hadn’t any caretakers.

It had always been believed that the two humans had been tempted by one of the Fallen. Well, there had been a demonic visitor to the garden that day, but not the one who’d been written into infamy for it. Padalax had come to see the progress and changes of this new part of the universe. He was an astronomy enthusiast, after all. He’d even helped create a few galaxies back in his angelic days. He would unobtrusively enter an area, often disguised as something indigenous. This time he slid into the garden as a serpent. It was such a simple form for his dragon-like body, he figured he’d have no trouble going through the garden unnoticed.

When he’d seen the Tree of Knowledge, he’d nearly laughed at the irony. Here stood this forbidden item, centered on a small, visually enticing pedestal of a hill in the garden. It was massive and beyond beautiful, with an infinite rainbow of colors. It was in constant flux in multiple stages of seasons, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Where its branches hung heavy with fruit, there were many types. One could have simply walked up and chosen from apples, avocados, and dates to mangos, pears, plums, and pomegranates.

Padalax couldn’t believe that this masterpiece had been placed within reach, made so tempting, and yet forbidden to be the reward of the very caretakers of the entire garden.

Padalax then spotted persimmons. They appeared to glow with their vivid brightness and color in contrast to the dark green leaves that surrounded them. He knew then that this would be the downfall of these naïve beings created with complete innocence and ignorance.

He’d just happened, once again, to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and associated with the wrong side. He’d seen an angel assuring the naïve female to take fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. The celestial being had played on his being a messenger of the Creator and being ultimately good to insist that he was incapable of deceit.

The woman hesitated, knowing the most important -if not only- rule to follow was to never eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. She’d eventually given in when she’d seen the angel eat one to prove nothing would happen. The female then convinced her mate to eat the fruit also. Padalax was intrigued and impressed, no demon could have been that convincing without some serious trickery. Plus, he knew how much this particular angel was disgusted by corporeal things; he hated to sully his temple with human foods.

He’d been gone from the heavens for some time now, but he knew this angel. The Archangel Gabriel had, for some inconceivable reason, just sealed the fate of these poor creatures.

Before Padalax could sneakily slither away, Gabriel had spotted him and realized his great fortune. He’d resolved that he could blame the incident on the serpent. And so, that was how it had been written. And what better scapegoat serpent than the Lightbringer himself. At least, that was who the humans named in their interpretations when the scriptures had been translated. That had been a lucky accident for Padalax, even though when he found out, he’d initially felt slighted. Demons do have egos, after all.

JenRahZiel happened to have been on the far wall watching over the garden and missed the unfortunate betrayal. He had managed, though, to catch the aftermath. He felt for the mortal beings, knowing they had nothing to protect them from the wilds of the world. When the coast was clear and God had turned away from the terrified humans, JenRahZiel had shown himself for the first time.

And so, the unlikely friendship of JenRahZiel and Padalax began here.

Atop the great wall that surrounded the Garden of Eden, separating it from the harsh rest of the world, the angel nervously stood. He watched the humans with great worry etched into his youthful face and his viridescent eyes. His bright, white wings were tense and shrugged high over his shoulders. His feathers ruffled as he warred with anger over this punishment and guilt for doubting God’s plan.

Hearing the serpent slither up the wall shook the angel from his distraction. JenRahZiel watched as the strange being stood and changed form. He was intrigued by the demon. He’d only ever heard of one Hell dweller with wings, and there was no way he was on Earth. Padalax caught him staring.

“Well, it’s an ironic day indeed when Evil does the right thing and Good does the wrong thing. Funny, huh?” The demon’s serpentine eyes finally shining black as he grinned with mischief.

The golden-haired deity smiled, nearly laughing until he thought about what was said. “N-No! That isn’t funny at all.” Of course, he was thinking of the decision he’d made to hand over his flaming sword to the human male as he met him and his mate as they exited the garden in shame.

Padalax noticed the lack of said weapon at just that moment. “Hey, when I slithered through here earlier, I could have sworn I saw you with a sword. Yeah, I did; it was flaming,” he continued, even while the angel vehemently shook his head in denial. “Yeah, yeah! There it is with the male! You old softy.”

“Alright, alright! I gave it away, geez.”

His smile died a little as he watched the angel cringe. “Ohhh, no wonder you don’t see the humor in what I said. Well, we’ll just keep that between us, yeah? Padalax, one of the original Fallen, at your service.”

“JenRahZiel, Principality of the Flaming Swo- uh, the Eastern Gate. For the record, there are vicious animals out there. Not to mention the elements.” The angel paused, biting a nail. “I really hope I didn’t royally screw things up and do the wrong thing.”

“C’mon, you’re an angel. I honestly doubt you could do the wrong thing. If it makes you feel any better, Jen, I am worried that I did the right thing letting the whole fruit incident happen. You know a demon could get in a lot of trouble doing the right thing.”

He paused as they watched, one in shock and one impressed, as the human dispatched a carnivore with much less effort or remorse than was expected.

“Kinda makes you wonder what the Almighty was planning, doesn’t it?”

“Ours is not to question ‘Why?’ It’s not for us to understand the Great Plan. It’s ineffable. Beyond understanding and incapable of being put into words.”

“But honestly, don’t you think it was a bit harsh? It was their first offense. Plus, it isn’t like the tree was placed out of reach,” Padalax matter-of-factly stated. “The most tempting thing in the garden placed dead center, no barriers? I’m surprised they had to be goaded into it. I mean, what’s so bad about knowing the difference between good and evil anyway?”

“Well,” contemplated JenRahZiel, “it must’ve been bad, for you to even have been involved.” His reasoning belied his concern and feeling that the demon actually had a point. “You’re a demon; isn’t this kind of thing in your nature?”

“I’m on _vacation,_ Jen. It isn’t like I came up here on orders. Guilt by association is just unfair.”__

Just then the sun, which had been creating hypnotic pearlescent colors in the angel’s wings, dimmed as the first thunderstorm of all creation rolled in on the clouds East of Eden. Padalax was disappointed at the loss for mere seconds before JenRahZiel shielded the demon with his wing.

Padalax never did mention the Archangel in the garden.

Over the centuries Padalax kept running into JenRahZiel, Jen, as he called his hereditary enemy. The angel never seemed to mind the nickname. He was the only one to use it, after all.

Each was wary of their respective sides ever knowing the extent of their unorthodox friendship. It was completely unheard of for an angel to befriend a demon. For good to interact with evil in any way other than smiting and thwarting it. As far as demons were concerned, any demon worth his salt should be thoroughly allergic to anything good.

Here is the highly unpopular and widely unknown truth. Here is what the scriptures, that modern humans know, have had “abridged” from their pages.

Angels are not as they are often perceived. They were created as beings of purpose. Often, an angel’s purpose would see them through eternity. Think of it as a pretty long-term job position made only for you. There were Guardians, Messengers, Watchers, and Deciders of Fate to list a few of the categorized assignments an angel could have been created for.

Demons, or at least the oldest, most powerful of them, were once angels before the great fall. While they live for chaos, rebellion, and agony, most of the older ones tend to stick to twisted versions of their ex-angelic purposes.

Having a job that defines your very existence might seem like a tedious responsibility, however, the majority of angels had never been far from the throne. In fact, only two Orders of The Nine even physically manifested at the border between Heaven and Earth, let alone for the humans inhabiting the tiny planet. Angels (and for all intents, demons) can sort of be compared to obsolete, programmed machines. They know only their purpose and do not falter from that purpose to worry about a different purpose. Thus it was for eons until the creation of Earth and man.

It hadn’t been long -in celestial terms- after that, that one Archangel attempted a hostile takeover, another inadvertently learned exactly what free will entailed, a Principality organically evolved from loyal soldier to loving pacifist, and a demon surprised everyone involved.

Padalax was expected to enjoy tempting and corrupting innocent souls for Hell just like any other hellspawn. The thing about Padalax was he had been a strategist, a researcher when he was an angel. He’d watched and assisted as entire galaxies were created. He appreciated the art of the universe. He blended into humanity better than any demon walking freely, and it eventually became his job to report to his liaisons from below. It was up to him to keep the demons in the know when societies evolved and changed and grew.

It had also been up to him to plan the apocalypse. That is until he presented an idea with too much flair. It would work, to be sure, but it was just too flashy for the demon horde to relate to. After that, Padalax was sent as a permanent field agent to Earth. He was to make regular reports to the Underworld via Alistair and Azazel, two demons who were very serious about their hellish tasks.

Present Day…

In the dead of night, a few decades after receiving his permanent assignment, Padalax is summoned by two of his underworld colleagues. They lurk among the gravestones and mausoleums for hours as they wait patiently to deliver their demonic instructions.

“Do you trust him?” whispered Alistair.

“No. I trained him,” growled Azazel. “Well, I tried.”

“Good. It would be an ass-backward world if demons went around trusting each other. What’s he calling himself these days?”

“Padalecki,” Azazel sneered, screwing up his face in distaste. “Here he comes now, the flamboyant ass.”

Hearing ‘Padalecki’ arrive before they saw him, they watched as he sped up the empty road into the cemetery. “He’s been above too long, gone native, in my opinion. Enjoying things like plants and music, keeping his eyes glamoured and hiding his tail even when there’s no need. What in Hades is that color he’s given himself anyway? And to think, he showed such potential.”

The shine of the midnight-black, classic Impala glowed in the full-moon light as it dramatically halted, music blaring. Its driver stepped out, leaving the engine, and Styx’s Renegade, running. With tan skin instead of his true dark grey, he looked far too human for his own good. He cockily sauntered over to his demonic counterparts. He very smoothly blinked, flashing his naturally black orbs. It was the only greeting he granted Alistair and Azazel.

Rolling his eyes, Alistair cleared his throat. “Now, that we are all here, we can commence with the business at hand. Let’s recount our evil deeds since last we saw each other.”

“I corrupted a priest,” boasted Azazel. “I tempted him with the never-ending pull of physical gratification. He started with himself. Eventually, he bent one of his devoted parishioners over every surface in the church. Each time he wasn’t caught by the flock of sheep in his congregation, he got more… daring. He used to be truly blessed; now he doubts his faith. Within a year, his soul shall be ours.”

“I snatched a suicide from limbo, one human month ago. He was a devious, wicked soul in life, and he assumed he could escape his fate by ridding the world of himself,” Alistair bragged in his grating rasp. “The surprise on his face when he wound up strapped to my table… mmm… delicious. Within a year, that soul will be twisted beyond repair.”

“Alright, guys, you ready? You’re gonna love this. I made sure there was an elderly customer paying with a bag of pennies for multiple items in every single grocery lane in every Walmart in the state. And they had coupons!”

“Umm, and?” the yellow-eyed demon asked, looking bemused.

“AND?! C’mon man, it wasn’t easy. I had to coordin-”

“What exactly is that supposed to have done to secure souls for Hell and our king?” asked Azazel, clearly not finding anything funny.

“Just think. Millions of pissed off, impatient humans ready to implode and take it out on each other?” Alistair looked completely unimpressed as he growled out, “It’s certainly lacking in craftsmanship.”

“Well, you know what? Hell doesn’t seem to mind much. Times have changed guys.” Padalecki sniffs and shifts, impatient. “Anyway, what’s up? Why did you call this little meeting?”

“_What’s up,_ kiddo, is the end of days.” Azazel’s yellow gaze intensified with his cocky grin. “The prophecy has started, and since they _love_ you so much in Hell, you’re gonna be our star player.”

“No way,” Padalecki gasped as he froze on the spot. Alistair stepped right up close to him and breathed out, “Yes.”

“Already?” asked the fallen one. Then it was Azazel’s turn. “Yes,” he whispered, deadly serious.

“And it’s up to me to…?”

Both underlings simultaneously smiled and repeated, “**Yes.**”

JenRahZiel had been enjoying a sublime meal at one of his favorite diners. Since having been assigned to live among humans and not just come down to grant the occasional miracle, he’d come to enjoy human food, especially things that were considered unhealthy. There was a benefit to being immortal. He loved things like burgers, onion rings, and steaks, but his weaknesses were bacon and pie.

He had just received his beloved dessert when Gabriel had decided to appear next to him in his booth. He’d explained to JenRahZiel that he’d come into some intelligence that the world was coming to an end.

“I will never understand why you consume _that_. You’re an angel.”

“This, my finicky, feathered friend is the only reason I agreed to continue living here. Food and booze are pretty nice; you should try it sometime.”

“I refuse to taint the temple of my celestial body with man-made fodder.”

“Right,” said the angel to his superior. He certainly would not point out that he knew all too well about the Archangel’s sweet tooth. Judgmental hypocrite.

“Anyway, you won’t have to worry about being stuck on this rock much longer. I have it on good authority from very reliable sources that plans for the underworld are being set in motion.”

“Oh?”

“Mhm, and my informant tells me this is all being headed by the demon Padalax, or whatever he is calling himself these days. It is up to you to keep an eye on him and report back to us. Be discreet.”

“Of course, I know how to be discreet. I _have_ been here since the beginning.” He wasn’t about to correct Gabriel about the demon’s name.__

“Yes you have, and so has Padalax. Actually, I’m surprised you two aren’t familiar. Must be a _miracle_.” Gabriel laughed jovially at his own joke and walked away while JenRahZiel glanced nervously at his pie.

Later, after JenRahZiel had finished his personal piece of apple pie heaven, he went back to his shop. He owned a nicely stocked museum of historical artifacts and books that he’d named Supernatural Effects. He never sold items that could harm mankind, but he’d been collecting items of interest since the dawn of time. One could always find a rare edition of some written work or a collectible version of an artifact there.

After his pie, the angel felt much better and had nearly put his conversation with Gabriel out of his mind when he heard the phone ring. It was after hours, so in lieu of a standard greeting, he began to say exactly that when he heard a familiar voice on the line.

“JenRahZiel, it’s me. We need to talk.” His demonic friend sounded so distraught.

So, what do you do when you find out the end of creation is coming, let alone that you are a key component to that end? Well, you drink quite extraordinary amounts of alcohol with someone you can confide in and let him blast his classic rock collection, of course…

“Six thousand years, give or take. Seems like a drop in the bucket now that it’s all coming to an end, Jen.”

Padalecki was truly conflicted. He wasn’t against Armageddon in general; he was a demon after all. It was just that it was one thing to plan for it and something else entirely to put that plan into action. Plus, he’d grown quite fond of this little planet and its inhabitants, including his celestial friend.

Jen, on the other hand, wasn’t so much affected by the fact that the world was going to be obliterated. Aside from a few times during his tenure on Earth, he was pretty much a poster-boy for rules and regulations. “Well, you know what? I can’t say it hasn’t been fun, but I also won’t say that the apocalypse hasn’t been a long-time expectation.”

“What? You can’t be serious. I would think you would be especially heartbroken over this.”

“Why? Humans have had this coming for ages. They never learn. Remember the Garden and what I gave up for them? I got snapped at for that. And how about Noah and the great flood?”

“Yeah, I’ll say it again. Quite extreme punishments for the crimes, if you ask me. Even the boy from Nazareth. You know, I am glad that I showed him all the kingdoms of the world before his untimely sacrifice. A carpenter from Galilee isn't exactly a title that affords many travel opportunities.”

Jen laughed at the fond memory. “Oh, you and your temptations. That was anything but a selfless act without ulterior motive. Good thing he was truly devout, or he would never have served his purpose.”

“Sure, sure. And what about the other times we ran into each other over the centuries? You’re gonna tell me those weren’t good times?”

“No, not at all. They were great. But I am an angel, and I have my orders. If the apocalypse happens, Heaven will win the war, good will triumph over evil, and-”

“And you won’t get any more bacon; no more of those delicious burgers you love so much.” Padalecki gestured to the drained bottles in their hands. “The fancy Scotch, Bourbon, and Whiskey you love to collect will be forever gone. Pie won’t exist ever again. How many of those hardcore, tragic, classic rock musicians does your side have in Heaven? Because we sure see lots in Hell.”

“They've already done their time. Their music is here.”

“And you'll never hear it again. All you will have for the rest of eternity is celestial harmonies and angel radio.”

Jen fell silent and Padalecki could tell he was reminiscing about their happenstances in the past. He hadn’t expected to see the angel again after his kindness on top of the Eastern Gate. But he could never quite clear his memory of the celestial who broke the tiniest bit of protocol.

_They had spotted each other about a thousand years after the human banishment from Eden. By then, the world was much more populated. Jen had been watching over the construction of a massive vessel. This was the Ark that was to be Noah and his family’s salvation from the great, cleansing flood that had been foretold. Pity, no one else had believed the man._

_Padalax, as he had still been calling himself, had been quite vocal that the cleansing was a very extreme way to show that one had lost patience with one’s creations. He thought that wiping all humanity from the earth was something the demonic side would do. At least the poor animals were spared from extinction. Well, most of them._

_The only thing JenRahZiel had said at the time was that the Almighty couldn’t be judged. There was a great, ineffable plan involved. Padalax couldn’t stop his eyes from rolling._

_Of course, little more than three thousand years later, a single life had been sacrificed so that yet another cleansing could be avoided. The angel observed with an air of professionalism. The demon, who’d changed his name to Padalecki at this point, watched with regretful apprehension as the nails were driven through skin, bone, and wood. Each time something like that happened, it seemed to affect the demon a bit more._

_Jen never admitted it, but he’d sort of liked the name Padalax. It was edgy._

_Eight years later, the two found each other in Rome. The demon was on a simple assignment of temptation, while the angel simply wanted to try out some of the local eateries. JenRahZiel had been a bit nervous then, feeling a little happier to see his acquaintance than normal. He offered to tempt him to a meal, and Padalecki was caught off guard with the choice of words. He could have sworn the angel had been flirting._

_After that, there had been a time they actually ended up incidentally pitted against each other. JenRahZiel had been a knight under King Arthur and tasked with taking down the Black Knight. Well, that just happened to be Padalecki. That was the first time they’d figured out they were both working their asses off just to cancel each other out._

_Jen, quite tired of dealing with harsh conditions just to try to help humans, suggested they just send progress reports to their respective agencies and instead do something more worth their time. Padalecki was surprised the usually above-board angel was suggesting that they lie. He was very impressed, but he didn’t want the angel to risk the wrath of Gabriel._

_It wasn’t long, however, before he relented. They came to the arrangement that one would do the job of both while the other took a break and vice versa. They figured out that as long as they were careful, neither Heaven nor Hell seemed to care how things got accomplished, as long as they did._

_Over the next couple of millennia, they’d met Shakespeare, where Padalecki had given the playwright one of his more famous lines and made him famous just to make his angel smile. His eyes crinkled and those heavenly green orbs sparkled in an irresistible way when he was genuinely happy._

_They’d been present during the Reign of Terror in Paris, where the angel saved the demon from losing his head in a guillotine. If either of them was to be separated from the human form they’d arrived with on Earth, there would be astronomical amounts of paperwork. It would be extremely inconvenient to their higher-ups. To return the favor, he took his savior out for crepes._

_Their first true disagreement, more than just good versus evil banter, came when Padalecki had an epiphany. What if things went wrong? He hadn’t had any examples or details, but he requested a favor. He’d called it ‘insurance,’ but when Jen heard what it was, he instantly thought it was a death wish. They’d had a furious argument, feelings were hurt, and they’d walked away from each other sure they’d never speak again._

_Nearly another century had passed before Jen found himself in a dangerous situation. This time, he was the one to be saved from disembodiment. His demon had a new, even more human moniker, Jared T. Padalecki. He not only saved his “life,” he’d saved the assignment the angel had been on. The look of grateful, enamored surprise and that prize-winning smile were so worth the small demonic miracle._

_Twenty-five years later, Jen gave Jared what he’d asked for over a century ago in the hope that he would never use it on himself. He hadn’t wanted Jared to go off half-cocked and get destroyed trying to steal it. He’d handed him the container of holy water and told him in as many words that he would not have him risking his life. Not for something that would do more than just remove him from his body, it would eradicate him._

_JenRahZiel had declined the usual ride home in the beautiful classic vehicle Jared had acquired, heartbroken and unsure. They’d developed something in all that time, he had no idea what his existence would be like without the demon sharing it._

  


Now, here they were, discussing the end of all things. One, not wanting humans to suffer for some supernatural beings’ prophetic obsessions, among other things. The other not wanting to face never again seeing his actual reason for staying here, but also not wanting to be divergent.

“We have to work together. Please, you can’t say no. This isn’t one of those trivial times where we cover for each other, this is serious.”

“Jared, I’m an angel, you’re a demon. We may have started out on the same path, but you are one of the Fallen.”

“I didn’t mean to fall…” Jared said as he shyly shrugged. “I just… vaguely meandered downward. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong friends, you know how it is.”

“And why would you want to save this world as it is? Humans are crazy. When they aren’t busy destroying each other, they bide their idle time destroying themselves.”

“They’re intriguing to me, Jen. They have free will, and yet they restrict themselves to rules based on a contradictory and, by now, completely misinterpreted instruction manual. Some of the things they do are highly entertaining to watch. And, well, not to dwell on the past or throw myself a pity party, but I happen to know what it is like to be punished for something I was never even a part of and be powerless to defend my position.”

“Are you sure you aren’t a good guy under all those layers of black? Or is it that you are in that ‘I love everything’ state of drunkenness?”

Jared looked at his friend, no, he was more than that now. He could see something in JenRahZiel that he’d been trying to ignore for fear of infinite consequences that he just couldn’t rationalize right then. He could hear a song playing in the background, Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain. “Well, I am certainly not one of the good guys. I won’t be forgiven, not ever. It’s part of my job description as a demon. Unforgivable; it’s what I am.”

_‘Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise’_   
_‘Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies’_

Jen’s eyes, glistening with tears for the first time since they’d known each other, met the demon’s. Within the stormy blue-green and the gold ring of fire, there were depths of desperation and a plea for understanding that was more immeasurable than the demonic black orbs he used to shield himself from those he never trusted.

_‘And if you don't love me now’_   
_‘You will never love me again’_   
_‘I can still hear you saying’_   
_‘You would never break the chain (Never break the chain)’_

In a blink, they were close enough to share the same breath. The sounds of feathers rustling and smooth leathery skin moving through the air underscored the percussion of the beat. Each gingerly placed a hand on the other, afraid they would disintegrate with a simple touch.

_‘Listen to the wind blow, down comes the night’_   
_‘Running in the shadows, damn your love, damn your lies’_   
_‘Break the silence, damn the dark, damn the light’_

Upon realizing that they could touch each other and not be destroyed, JenRahZiel caressed Jared’s face. “I would save the world for you. I would spare all your humans, long as it meant you would be a part of it. I just need _you_.”

“Are you tempting me, Angel?” whispered Jared as he consumed the winged creature in a desperate kiss that matched the song's music tempo, increasing to a frantic speed. He begged with his tongue for entrance between those luscious, angelic lips as he walked them from the lounge area toward the center of the shop. There rested an ancient, 19th Century chaise lounge under a warm spotlight as a focal, decorative piece. It was upholstered in cream-colored leather with bronze studs and had a sturdy base and legs of carved mahogany. It was in exemplary condition, and Jared had a split-second thought that it looked every bit like some kind of ceremonial altar.

Layers of clothing dropped to the floor in a trail as they went, taking turns pinning each other against the corridor walls.

_'Chain… keep us together (running in the shadow)'_   
_'Chain… keep us together (running in the shadow)'_

Frantic and unable to focus on keeping them non-corporeal, angel and demon wings both unfurled. Flexing in the short hallway and flapping once clear of it, they knocked over merchandise, including the record player and other items along the way. Whimpers, keens, grunts, and heavy breathing replaced the sounds of beating wings and music.

Finally, as he hoisted Jen up, allowing his bowed legs to wrap around Jared's narrow waist, Jared's powerful wings tightly cocooned around them. Jen's immaculate, holo-freckled feathers loosely haloed around them then, their soft caresses teasing Jared's hair, shoulders, back; everything that could be reached. Extremely sensitive, the feathers came in contact with the velvety smooth, vascular skin, the movement sent a sensation no less intense than an electric charge mixed with a solar flare through their owners.

The rest of the world dissolved from their minds as Jared gracefully straddled the chaise and freed JenRahZiel from the cradle of his wings. The angel, in turn, let his heels rest on the chaise cushion, his strong, muscled thighs falling wide across Jared’s lap as they focused on exchanging deep, mind-numbing kisses. Bathed in soft light, neither noticed the floor beneath them begin to glow. They were surrounded in a perfect circle of glyphs of Enochian that were pulsing with energy.

Jen’s hands roamed everywhere, exploring Jared’s rippling back, narrow waist, and broad shoulders. When he touched the junction where bat-like wings met Jared’s broad back, the demon shuddered. His skin suddenly shimmered back to its true gunmetal grey. “There you are… Padalax, as beautiful as the day we met,” said the angel, emerald gaze full of awe and possession.

The shock of lust that overcame his demon lover cause him to surge forward, laying Jen onto his back and thrusting their hips together. Neither of them was new to the idea of physical intimacy. They’d both witnessed humans and their expressions of love and lust. Neither had actually ever experienced it. The sensation of merely pressing together and sliding against one another was immeasurable. They keened and arched against each other in orgasmic release.

All around them, everything outside of their glowing, pulsating circle froze as time stood still.

Jared suddenly had the impression of standing on a mysteriously cool spot on the sun. For a moment, the sun was immobile, and he was blissfully enjoying the warm red and golden artistry. Then, the sun's natural motion slowly started, and his nice, safe circle was shrinking. He remembered where he was supposed to be and figured out that he was dreaming for the first time in his existence.  
He regained consciousness and was still aware of increasing, intense heat, flickering red light behind his eyelids, and cloying acrid smoke filling the room. He thought he’d awakened in Hell, sent there as punishment for defiling his angel.

_‘Shit! Jen!’_ Jared opened his eyes, searching and feeling around for the other body that should have been there. JenRahZiel had vanished and he was sitting there naked, surrounded by flames!

The museum with all of its precious artifacts and books, art and music, all of it had been consumed. All of it was lost, except for the circle where they’d come together. On the floor, next to the chaise he was perched on, lay a pair of wings. For a moment, Jared was too shocked to move. Then everything hit him like a cannonball. “Jen! JenRahZiel, where are you?!” he called out as flames kept creeping closer. _‘I can’t even sense him! What have they done to him?’_ he thought, panicked.

“Someone killed my Angel!” he screamed in anger and sorrow. He let his tears fall over the only thing he had left of Jen. Before the flames could get any closer to those precious mementos, he cradled them in his arms, unleashed his own wings, and beat back the flames near the doors with a powerful gust of the smoky air. He snapped his fingers and re-clothed himself.

As he walked out to his car, he’d determined that someone was going to pay. If this was the catalyst to getting him to start the apocalypse, then he would lay everything to waste until nothing of creation was left.

Little had he known; Armageddon had already begun…

Back to a few moments ago…

Both angel and demon were oblivious to the world around them. In their frenzied stumbles, a lit candle had tumbled to the floor. It rolled and came to a stop next to some very old tomes. Once those ignited, the store's exterior slowly but surely became a ring of flames surrounding the oblivious pair.

Jared, in his ecstasy, had accidentally frozen time outside of their little circle. They had no clue of the danger that awaited them. After losing themselves in each other, they’d collapsed onto the oddly comfortable cushion of the chaise. After some time, they’d settled into a spooning position with one of Jen’s wings covering them.

Neither of them had needed nor experienced sleep before. But it was something the angel subconsciously thought he would try again. That was until JenRahZiel felt himself being lifted away. He opened his eyes and was unable to see anything except heavenly light. Then he felt pain as he never had before as his wings were effortlessly shorn from his back. He couldn’t scream, and he was unable to move from the light. The last thing he’d seen before resigning to the fact that he was headed to face the Archangels was his demon, his love asleep among flames.

He knew it was Supernatural Effects burning to the ground, but he didn’t care. He hadn’t cared about anything material in this world once he confessed his love for Jared. He needed to find his way back to him.

It wasn’t long before he was standing (barely) in the presence of Gabriel and Michael. “Well, Gabriel, I have to admit that I doubted your foresight. When you told me that our teacher’s pet, JenRahZiel, could accomplish what we needed, I had no idea how far he was willing to take things to get our little apocalypse started,” said Michael, smirking.

Gabriel was staring hard at JenRahZiel, eyes full of satisfied, smug hatred and a touch of disgust. “Honestly, I knew he liked slumming, with all that human food he was a sucker for, but I really didn’t take him for the type to lie with strays.” He looked at Michael. “I thought we’d have to settle for the classic ‘child of the devil’ catalyst. The Horsemen will at least be excited about not having a general to rein them in this fight.”

JenRahZiel looked between his superiors, confused. “What are you talking about? What exactly is it that you think I did that you are so damned giddy about?” he gritted out through his immense pain.

“Oh poor, gullible angel. Wait, you’re not even that, thanks to you taking one for the team.” Gabriel cruelly gave him a pat on the back and then wiped his hand as if he’d literally touched a disease. JenRahZiel cried out and dropped to his knees in excruciating pain. “Ooh, sorry, I bet that still smarts.”

“What Gabriel is so callously saying is that you finally lived up to something we could be proud of. Like a good soldier, you sacrificed your, well, _everything_ to give Heaven the prophesied war to settle the score with Hell once and for all.” JenRahZiel gasped, figuring out how he’d been used. Not only was he physically hurt beyond measure, but he was heartbroken by such a betrayal. From God’s most elite no less.

“You fucking used me?!” The Archangels’ eyes belied their nonplussed reactions. They’d never seen JenRahZiel angry enough to curse. “And so now what? I’m _**human**_? Is this how you planned on getting rid of me? I’ll be destroyed with the rest of them?”

“Actually, now that you mention it, Jen-sinner, that seems like a much more fitting consequence to your actions than reincorporating and reprogramming you,” Gabriel sneered. “Michael wanted to bring your wings back with you, put you back into the fold. He just doesn’t know how much fun it would be to watch your weak little human constitution react to the gross matter you ingest ad nauseum.”

Jen could no longer stand to look at them. It was his turn to be disgusted. How could two of God’s chosen soldiers believe they were so righteous that they could just disregard the creations they’d been tasked to watch over? He knew then that he was dealing with one-track-minded war machines. All they exited for was fighting; it was all they cared about.

He looked around the sterile-looking penthouse office. He could see the gigantic model of the actual Earth over in the corner. He knew it wasn’t just a moving sculpture. It was a portal back to Earth, and if he could distract them enough, he could make a move for it.

“Why does Heaven need another war? Why does Earth need to be the battlefield for it?”

“C’mon, man, you know your history just as well as any of us.” Michael waved off the question as his attention turned to the battle plans on his desk. “This was prophesied to happen. _**The Great Plan! Revelations!**_ We’re soldiers, _fighters_, it is what we were made for. Do you have any idea how long we have waited for this battle? Gabriel, tell him, would you?”

“We’ve known since Adam. When Luci and the rest of his gang took the plunge like Humpty Dumpty, _**THAT**_ was the real beginning. _**that**_ was ground zero, and _**that**_ is why it has to be Earth. Not what humans choose to follow from some dusty book written by some random dudes thinking they were blessed.” The Archangel had begun pacing and talking animatedly with excitement over the end of everything. “By the way, _**you**_ should know better than anyone how that book has been bastardized a million times over the centuries.”

He looked over to his ex-field agent. “Didn’t you have the original in that crappy li’l museum of your-”

JenRahZiel was gone.

Jared was home with his plants, trying to think past his guilt. It was his fault that Jen was gone. He should have known that the other side would be more ruthless about rules being broken. Hell was many things, but there was a certain finesse to their punishments. They always left room to up the stakes so they could keep their tortured on their toes.

He’d started drinking, trying to numb the pain of Jen’s absence. Even when he hadn’t seen him for a couple centuries it wasn’t near as bad as this empty, cold feeling. He’d always been able to feel that his angel was out there somewhere on the planet. It is how he could always find him when he was in trouble. Now, it felt as if a part of him was ripped out. He needed to dull the sharp edges while he thought of a way to take out Heaven and Hell, and even himself, without destroying Earth.

He stared at the wings he had carefully laid out on the conference table that he’d repurposed as a design piece in his dining room. They’d kept their iridescent freckles; he could see them when the moonlight sifted through the blinds on his window.

His phone rang. Jared went to answer it, thinking either Azazel or Alistair were calling to ream him on getting distracted by an angel when he was supposed to be starting Armageddon.

“Yes?”

“Impressive work my boy! Way to get your hands dirty, or should I say clean in this situation?”

Jared’s brow creased with confusion. “What in Hell’s bells are you babbling about Azazel?”

“The apocalypse! You’ve started it, just like they said you would. Now, you need to get ready for the final countdown, kiddo!”

“Whoa, wait a damned minute! I-I did _**what**_?” Jared was shaking, furious. Something wasn’t adding up. He’d done nothing to start the clock counting to the end of the world! Unless…

“Are you fucking serious right now? Did you plan for this?”

“Above my paygrade, kid. I just simply slipped your name to management as the most likely to, uh, sleep his way to the top.” He snickered, the bastard. “Apparently, I wasn’t wrong. Hell, there was a pool, started by Lilith, that you were going soft. I couldn’t let her get away with that.”

There was a pause on the line, but Azazel could hear his protégé breathing. It was not the reaction he was expecting.

“What, don’t tell me you’re feeling guilty or some shit. They’re real extra happy with you downstairs now; you should feel pretty damned good about that. Now, don’t make me and Alistair come to get you, that would just be childish. Plus, that blade-wielding maniac is mighty antsy lately.” This time, there wasn’t a sound on the other end. “Hello? Padalecki?”

Jared moved quickly; there was no way he was going anywhere with those sons of the Whore of Babylon. He knew they were probably already on their way to intercept him. The phone call had just been a distraction. He looked at the thermos that had once contained his ‘Insurance Policy,’ rolling his eyes when he almost prayed that his little experiment would work. _‘Would prayer even work for a demon?’_ he thought sarcastically.

A few years after JenRahZiel had given him the Holy water, he’d found a chemist who wouldn’t ask questions, as long as his demanded price was met. Being a demon, Jared didn’t exactly question the morality of others. He simply made sure that people with unsavory agendas got what was coming to them in the end. He enjoyed humanity; it wasn’t his job to change what they decided to do with their free will.

Sebastian Roché was a self-proclaimed witch hunter and expert occultist. He had a lab that he’d built himself; it all looked so randomly disheveled. Shady was barely a good enough description for the setup. But the man was intelligent and secretive because he knew what happened to people who spouted off about anything strange and unusual. He cursed like a sailor and his debauchery knew no limits, but he’d get the job done without judgment because Jared would be funding all of his endeavors without scrutiny. It also helped that the man had a healthy, ingrained fear of Jared.

“I need this weaponized while keeping it as pure as possible,” He’d said, holding up the thermos.

“You know I am not one to ask, but I am also not one to suffer fools. Exactly what the fuck kind of crazy are we fucking with here? Is this something I’ll end up in prison for?”

“It’s Holy water, Seb, calm down. I need something that I can safely handle that will burst on impact and stick, no splashback. Piercing the skin will do nothing, so bullets won’t cut it.”

“Seriously? You want what, water balloons? When you called, you sounded as if you had something serious happening.”

Jared had simply blinked, showing his demonic, black orbs. “It is imperative that you make sure you use every… single… drop. Money isn’t an issue. However, for every DROP wasted, you will lose a body part. Is that incentive enough for you?”

He’d looked at Jared for a long moment, wide-eyed. “Absolutely. Come back in a couple of weeks.”

When the man handed Jared a paintball gun and a small cooler filled with twenty-five encapsulated rounds a few weeks later, he had been impressed at the simplicity and creativity of it all.

“I had to increase the viscosity to make the ammunition more stable. A little polyvinyl alcohol and now you’ve got yourself some Holy napalm.” As awesome as that had sounded, Jared still wasn’t sure how effective it would be. He’d also felt it wouldn’t be long before he’d be trying it out.

As the two Dukes of Hell made their way through his apartment, Jared waited, gun in hand. He couldn’t just run off; they’d never have stopped tracking him. He didn’t have time to dick around with them and their Heaven versus Hell petty spat. He no longer cared about archaic vendettas or settling ancient scores.

Jared knew demons, especially as depraved as those two, wouldn’t just be threatened or easily intimidated. He would have to do something drastic, something unthinkable enough to place fear in the cold, corrupted heart of a demon. Then, if he survived getting Azazel and Alistair off his tail, he would mete out his vengeance to the factions of Heaven and Hell.

“We know you’re here, you giant, winged pain in the ass,” said Alistair.

“Don’t mind Alistair, he’s just a little testy because he missed his playtime with the rack tonight. We just want to talk, kid.”

They approached Jared’s office and Alistair, impatient to get this over with, pushed open the door. Before he got one foot across the threshold, a tempo of several pops was heard, Alistair let out an agonizing, guttural scream. He gurgled, then he dissolved into a brightly glowing mist. It dissipated, leaving nothing but clothes in a pile.

Then, Azazel was screaming, in shock and horror. “Th-th-that’s Holy water!” he yelled, once he was able to speak. “How… you… even a demon wouldn’t! How could you?! Alistair never did anything to you!”

“Yet.” Jared faced his former mentor, his obsidian gaze menacing. “I know why you’re here. The legions of the damned don’t need me in their little spat with the factions of Heaven. You can go back now, and exist just a little bit longer, or you can join Alistair. I’ve had enough.”

“Well, now look who decided to grow a pair after all. First off, you don’t scare me, kid. I made you what you are. Second, you won’t ever be good enough to be brought back into God’s graces, so why are you fighting your destiny so hard? That little angel of yours won’t even remember you once Heaven’s done their factory reset on him.”

Azazel’s golden eyes gleamed when he spotted a split-second moment of what he thought was hesitation. “Oh, didn’t you know? Is that what your little temper tantrum was about? He would have to have done something a tiny bit worse than open his pure little legs, even to the likes of you, to be executed. If you ask me, though, ‘blank slate’ is worse than death.”

He kept talking. “Yeah, see, I’ve been around a very long time and know more than you can imagine. I can teach you all of it, give you everything if you just do your part. You were made to lead our forces in battle, now come with me and play your role!”

Jared schooled his features. His initial shock wouldn’t stop him now. “You underestimate me, Azazel. While I’m new to the whole demon thing, I’m more ancient than I look.”

The last thing the demon saw was the look of conviction on Jared’s face before he pulled the trigger, emptying his weapon. Azazel was hit in the face and neck. The initial sting from the impact of whatever Jared was shooting at him at close range was nothing compared to the excruciating pain of the thick, oozing liquid that was coating his face. This was no ordinary Holy water that he couldn’t just shake off with a few burns. This was sticking to him, and he was helpless to do more than scream as it ate away at him.

His eradication made Alistair’s look swift and painless.

JenRahZiel felt like he was floating and… insubstantial. He thought that might happen. He’d been discorporated -separated from his physical body- by the portal. This is why angels are normally issued a body and given clearance to go to Earth in an organized process. Archangels had more power and more authority to come and go through portals.

At least while he was like this, he could try to focus on where he was and attempt to reach Jared. The demon would be able to help him locate his body. Acknowledging that he was human after being an angel for six thousand years hurt like a sonofabitch. Having his wings removed was torture. Being betrayed by those he thought incapable of evil was disparaging. But nothing felt worse than the cavernous ache he felt when he initially tried to sense Jared and couldn’t.

For a shattering moment, he thought maybe the fire had claimed him. But he shook off that thought, deciding to have faith in what they’d found together. There was no way it was just a tool of prophecy. He had to find his demon, figure out how to literally pull himself together, and find a way to prevent that stupid war.

JenRahZiel tried again. This time, he felt it. The connection was hazy, but it was there.

Jared’s mind was reeling. He couldn’t believe what Azazel had said. Jen hadn’t been killed; he was taken. Jared couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself. He’d been so emotionally shaken by losing what he and Jen had just found. It was something he’d wanted but had repressed for nearly six thousand years.

Now all Jared could think about was Jen possibly having been reincorporated. If that was the case would he even _**be**_ JenRahZiel? Would he remember Jared at all? He sat down in his dining room, staring at the wings on his table. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that he’d lose his angel that way. Wouldn’t Heaven need his wings to do that? But then, where was he? Why couldn’t Jared sense him?

Suddenly, a glimmer of light caught his eye and he looked up. He gasped as Jen appeared to be seated before him. “JenRahZiel! You’re… here? Why can I see through you?”

“That’s a good question; I’m sort of working that out at the moment. This is new to me. I guess I kinda messed things up. Did you make it out of here, find someplace to go?”

“Uhm, about that. I’m still here. Shit happened; I lost someone I really care about.” His voice broke. “Was about to go on a kamikaze mission of revenge, you know?”

“You’re so dramatic.” Jen’s blush was visible, despite him being transparent. “I’m so sorry. I tried to wake you up when they took me, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even breathe. But I’m glad you made it out! Is any of the place still standing?”

“No, none of it,” he said, remorseful.

“Well, I guess it is what it is,” Jen said, resigned. “There are more important things to worry about. I think I know how to stop the apocalypse. I’ll need your help, because without my wings-”

“Wait! Jen, I have your wings! They were all I had left of you, I had to.”

“You do? Awesome, we need to act fast. The Archangels could come looking for them.”

“Where are you? I’ll bring them to you.”

“That’s kinda the problem. I don’t exactly know where I am. I was discorporated.”

“Oh, shit.”

“I need you to take my wings.”

“Uh, take them where?”

“No, you need to fuse their power with yours. You will be stronger than Michael and Gabriel combined. You could even bring my body back.” Jared looked at Jen, surprised he would think of something like that. He had no idea what would happen. He knew of angels merging, but he was a demon.

“Jen, I’m a demon; I could explode. This has never been done before.”

Jen reached out as if to take Jared’s hand, but then remembered he couldn’t. “You were an angel once."

“That was a long time ago.”

“There’s just enough good in you for this to work. Just think of it this way. I kinda get to be inside you.”

Jared huffed a sad laugh. “We don’t have many options left, huh?” After a moment, he said, “Okay, we’ll see if this works, but I’ll give them back to you as soon as this is over. Let me gather what we need, and we can get started.”

He got up from the table and left, neither noticing nor allowing for the protest that had formed on Jen’s lips.

Jared completed the ritual which enabled him to fuse with JenRahZiel’s wings. He screamed as he was immediately engulfed in flames. Jen’s look of horror made Jared do something no other demon could have done. Jared has always had something they didn’t, an imagination. He began to imagine that he was perfectly fine as the flames licked over his skin. As soon as he settled, so did the fire. The fusion created a variety of other perks on top of the immense surge of power that the angel had said would happen.

His black, leathery, dragon-like wings had grown lush feathers of the deepest midnight black. The iridescent shimmer from Jen’s wings remained. They were extraordinary. Jared also was able to feel the angel’s essence flowing through him. It was almost like when they could sense each other, except this was much stronger. Had Jared not seen Jen right in front of him, he would have assumed the angel had decided to inhabit his body after all.

The demon could feel the power coursing through him. He was able to see where all the human leaders of the world were shaking in their skins because some unknown force was priming their weapons of mass destruction and aiming them at each other. He could see it was the Horsemen at work, gleefully awaiting the hour to end the world, kill billions, and start the prophesied War of Revelations. No area was safe; there was no country making a secret deal with another. All were contemplating their own deaths.

Jared froze them all. There was no way he was going to allow everything to be destroyed now. But, he had something more important to do first.

Jen felt nearly whole again, being able to so strongly sense Jared. Each could sense how one craved the other. It was nearly distracting. But they remembered then that Jen needed to at least be corporeal before any of that would be happening again.

Jared could see the angel’s body, or rather its atoms that had been scattered in the veil between Earth and Heaven. When Jen jumped into the portal in Michael’s office, he hadn’t been powerful enough to maintain the bonds keeping his body solid. Even with his wings, he wouldn’t have been able to. This is why Archangels are the only ones known to be strong enough to jump portals at will.

Now, Jared was even stronger. He concentrated on everything he knew about his angel, everything he’d learned over the last six-thousand-plus years. He concentrated on the body he’d mapped not twenty-four hours ago. He was precise, meticulous, and careful as the physical attributes gradually materialized. He placed every skin cell, hair, and freckle both from memory and from the genetic pattern that Jen’s wings had provided.

This reminded him of when he’d helped to build some of the most beautiful nebulas in the universe. Of course, those were massive compared to the intricate work he was doing here. But he’d taken the same care then to make sure they were as perfect as possible as he took now with this one biological organism. Jen’s body was warm, heart beating and blood pumping; lungs breathing. It was just missing its soul.

When he was finished with the physical, he then had to merge it with the metaphysical. He had to get Jen back into his body. He placed one hand at the top of his head, and one over his heart. “Close your eyes, angel, this is gonna happen fast,” he said, looking across the table where Jen had watched everything. Once he did what he was told, Jared bent down and pressed their lips together.

It was very chaste, extremely intimate, and the gentlest thing he’d ever done in his entire existence. The connection caused a spark that traveled all the way through them both, plucking Jen from where he stood and drawing his essence into the vessel that lay naked on the table.

Jen’s back arched as everything snapped into place. For a moment, he just laid there, appreciating the sensations of having a solid, physical presence again. He took a huge breath and opened his eyes. When his jade irises locked onto Jared’s sunflower-filled, blue-green pools, Jen surged up and into Jared’s arms.

Despite having been outside of his body, he’d felt Jared’s efforts the entire time. He felt the conviction and determination. He finally sensed the love that had always been for him. The demon had waited until the last possible moment to spark the body’s nervous system, so there hadn’t been any pain. It felt like his entire being had been sensually massaged on an atomic level. When he’d made the half-assed joke earlier, there was no way he could have imagined this.

When it was done, all Jen wanted was to feel that sensation for eternity. He still felt the desire and pull that had been slowly ebbing through them after Jared took on his wings. He started fumbling with Jared’s clothes. For some reason, nothing else seemed to matter more than feeling him as closely as possible. Not the apocalypse, not the war, nothing.

He sat up on the table, turning toward Jared and wrapping his legs around the demon’s narrow waist. He remembered he was naked when Jared’s clothes created friction on his newly developed skin.

“Off, get these off,” he demanded. “You’re lucky I don’t have powers.” His hands were not yet as nimble as they used to be. He really needed to get used to this. Jared chuckled as he pulled off his shirt and then removed everything else that was in the way. This time the kiss was deep, intense, and ravenously dirty.

Jen moaned as he felt himself open up, relaxed and receptive. The most sensitive places on his body were slowly being prepared, and he knew it was for something amazing. He looked quizzically at Jared, who quirked an eyebrow and a crooked grin. “Since you’re so eager, good thing one of us has powers, right?”

“Way to think on the fly, Padalecki.”

“Less talk, more of this.” He pressed himself closer and the feel of soft skin and firm muscles had Jen gasping. He was laid back on the table surface and Jared’s lips and tongue wandered over the torso he’d formed from scratch. He ran his hands endearingly down past his hips and behind his knees, lifting until Jen’s calves rested on his shoulders.

“Need to feel you, c’mon,” pleaded Jen. Jared didn’t make him wait any longer. He claimed his love slowly and made it last until Jen felt his atoms were shattering again and again. The feeling of Jen pulsating around him made Jared shout, repeatedly calling Jen’s name.

They finally had no one to take this away from them. The two entangled their limbs together as they lay on the expansive table and just enjoyed their moment together. Jared knew what was coming next. 

“You know, we have to put the world back in order, right?” he whispered as he kissed the top of Jen’s head.

“Yeah I know, but I am enjoying you making warmongers wait.”

The wave of power that had emanated from them when the fusion ritual had been completed had been felt by Heaven and Hell. Both Lilith and Gabriel had been preparing their respective factions to storm the hellmouth that had been slowly developing on Earth when suddenly, everything stopped.

The Archangel and High Demoness found themselves at Fort Hood military base. The base was set to be the opening to the hellmouth and the battleground where the war between Heaven and Hell would begin. They looked at each other, confused. Then they stood in awkward silence for hours. Neither wanted to give any advantage to the other by admitting they were at a loss as to what was going on.

“What just happened? One minute, I’m preparing the garrisons for war and the next I’m standing here. Did you do this?” asked Gabriel, finally.

“Seriously? I could ask you the same, but I have common sense. I knew Angels were not that bright, but obviously, I was just as busy as you rallying my own troops, so don’t look at me. It appears the apocalypse has been put on pause. That takes power.”

“Precisely. It takes a power that neither of you possesses.”

They were shocked to be face to face with Padalecki, and he had a very human Jen with him. Something about the demon was different. Then, he decided to show them he meant business and they both were forced to their knees by enormous pressure and power.

“You need to stop this insignificant spat. I won’t allow everything to be destroyed just because Heaven and Hell want to play ‘Who’s is bigger?’” He summoned the Horsemen and ordered them to stand down. They vanished, confident that they were infinite and would return. Humans would never learn.

“You dare disrupt or even question The Great Plan?!” Gabriel was incensed. “It was why this world was created, for Heaven’s sake! I knew you should have just gone with a corruptible Anti-Christ! Why can’t you demons ever follow directions?”

“Ugh, you act like this is all Hell’s fault,” Lilith muttered and then looked at Jen with extreme prejudice. “That is **_your_** agent is it not? Just let me handle this.” She crawled toward Jared. “Look at you, how you’ve grown. I could definitely rule beside you; don’t you want to rule the world once the war is won? I can make that happen for you if you simply restart Armageddon.”

Jen rolled his eyes. “He spent ages building worlds before you were a gleam in Lucifer’s eye. There’s nothing you can offer him.”

“You can’t just refuse to be what you were made to be, Padalecki. You, and even Jen-sinner here, what happened with you is part of the Great Plan.”

“You know what Gabriel? You keep beating a dead horse with this Great Plan-”

“No one’s talking to the human, so how about you just keep your mouth shut while there’s still a chance for you to be redeemed.”

“Take it easy, Archangel!” Jared flexed again, this time yanking Gabriel and Lilith to their feet, then levitating the Archangel high into the air.

“As I was saying, are you sure your Great Plan is the same as the Ineffable Plan?”

Now it was Lilith who decided to speak up. “As it is written, ‘There shall be a world, and it shall last six thousand years and end in fire and flame!’ What, did you lose your mind when you lost your wings?”

“Well, that all sounds like the Great Plan I remember, but you didn’t answer my question. Is it or is it not the Ineffable Plan? Don’t tell me you haven’t thought this through.”

“Obviously… they’re the same… I mean…” Gabriel grunted out as he struggled against the unbreakable hold Jared had on him. The demon finally placed him back on the ground when he could sense the doubt coming from both of his enemies.

“You don’t know. You can’t possibly know, because the Ineffable Plan is, by definition, unknowable. It would be a shame if you thought you were following God’s Ineffable Plan, but you were actually acting against it.”

“Do you think this is some game, Padalecki? God doesn’t play games.”

“You been under a rock Gabe? Honestly, you really should have spent more time down here. You are clueless.”

Gabriel stared at Jared a long time before looking at Lilith. “This is a disaster! How am I supposed to get the garrisons to stand down!”

“You think you have problems? Try telling the factions of evil to go back to their redundant fucking lives!”

“Well, at least when our superiors hear about this, we know exactly who to blame,” he snarled at Jared. Then he fixed his glowing eyes on Jen. “You just lost any chance you had at coming back, abomination!”

Jared had heard enough. He reanimated the world and dismissed Gabriel and Lilith to their respective domains with a snap of his fingers. It was over, at least until the next attempt to settle the score.

“Hey, you didn’t explode. See? I knew you could do it,” Jen said, smiling.

“Yeah, now I can give you back your wings.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Jen said. “I don’t want to go back, Jared.”

“But you hated the idea of being human.”

“I’d have to be reincorporated and you know that my mind, my will, my memories; they’ll all be removed. I won’t lose you that way or in _any_ way. Guess I’m selfish.”

“JenRahZiel,” he said in awe. Jen scowled when he heard that name after hearing Gabriel’s taunt again. He needed to take that power away from him. He decided he wanted nothing to do with angels, he was claiming his identity as a human, completely committing to it.

“Call me Jensen.”

~The End~

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I want to thank Jld71 for being available and present, and always giving feedback when I needed it, and especially for her infinite patience with me. I also want to give thanks for all the beta work, cheerleading, patience, and nudging from jessie_cristo, Jerzcaligrl, and Missyswife37


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